Hymnal
by YoukaiKoi
Summary: What happens when a demon lord finds a beautiful maiden deep in his territory? What secrets does she hide? Will love of hate drive them? Please don't forget to read and review. Thanks :D
1. Forest

**Chapter 1**

**Forest **

Why can't you see that you are my child  
>Why don't you know that you are my mind<br>Tell everyone in the world that I'm you  
>Take this promise to the end of you-<p>

SOAD

**Once there was a demon lord.**

**He came across a fair maiden deep in the forest looking both disheveled and dignified. He was not known for his kindness, in fact he was quite feared in his region, but something**

**about her intrigued him so he watched her from afar. She was not human, at least not completely, and this intrigued him even more. She was quite beautiful she had long soft pink**

**hair flowing with every slightest breeze. Her skin was like porcelain and glistened when the sun hit it through the trees. He could not see her eyes as they were closed. He watched**

**her for hours and she never moved once. If it were not for his heightened senses he would have thought her dead.**

**The smell of sorrow was pungent around her. "Either kill me or leave me.", her silky golden voice interrupted his internal dialogue. So she had noticed him. With a raised**

**eyebrow he looked at her and simply replied, "Whatever for?" Unmoving, eyes still closed she told him simply. " I do not need a witness to my grief nor a burdensome stalker."**

**"Grief.", were the only words that came from his mouth as he came closer to her. There was an enormous silence between them. Usually this tactic worked. Being silent until the**

**other person felt uncomfortable and filled it with what he wanted to know. He moved closer and reiterated, "Grief." "You realize that is not a question?", she said coolly. A little smirk**

**tugged at the corner of his mouth, obviously she was of few words like himself. So this would prove to be either interesting or frivolous. "Indeed.", was all he uttered. He ventured**

**closer towards her. She smelled of an approaching storm and honeysuckle mixed with great sadness. Why did he even care he wondered to himself. He quickly decided it was a good**

**diversion from the mundane, besides she was not like any hanyou he had met , and that intrigued him greatly.**

"**Is there a reason you have been sitting here for so long?", he asked thinking it was a good question. "Yes.", she said and said no more. Still unmoving like a living statue. This**

**was getting him nowhere. So he thought of a less close-ended question, but before he could she spoke without any provocation. "Be gone I do not need a new demon when I already**

**have so many from my past haunting me." He was quite insulted by her lack of respect for him. Did she not know to whom she spoke? Surely she did. He should kill her where she sat**

**and be done with this. "Either kill me of leave me.", she repeated her earlier offer as if she had read his mind. The he wondered if she actually could. So he asked bluntly, "Can you**

**read my thoughts?" "If I could would it be wise of me to tell you I could?", she said flatly. That he thought was truly a well measured response. With that he turned and simply left.**

**He found it hard to sleep because his mind would not stop wondering back to the maiden even though he had put a great distance between them. He wondered why she was in**

**the forest alone and apparently unarmed with no male around. Who was she, and damn it he still had no idea what her eyes looked like. Her kimono, even though it had seen better**

**days looked like it was once from a prominent family. He could still smell her scent that lingered on him. With so many unanswered questions he decided that he would return**

**tomorrow.**

**He returned the next day, but this time he brought a small offering of food in hopes of getting her to talk or at the least open her eyes. She was in the same exact spot eyes**

**closed and unmoving. This time he was much bolder and sat only feet from her. She made no indication the she acknowledged him. He sat silent just taking in his surroundings**

**contemplating his next question. Before he could open his mouth she coldly informed him, "I do not require your charity." This quite simply angered him as it was not often that he**

**was prone to kindness. For the briefest of moments he thought he saw a faint smil curl on the corner of her mouth. His anger ebbed slightly though this did provoke the thought she**

**was toying with him. While contemplating this a gust of wind blew tendrils of hair ever so lightly tickling his nose. He instinctively grabbed at them catching just enough to twirl**

**around his clawed finger and inhale deeply before letting go. He thought that he heard a slight sigh escape her lips but wasn't entirely sure. What was going on inside him, his own**

**emotions were betraying themselves. This made him move farther from her before something more could happen.**

**After a long silence and much introspection he was able to form his words carefully, "I will ask you one question each day that you must answer." It sounded like more of a**

**command than a request which was fine with him he was a Lord after all and she was below him. To his astonishment she replied simply, " That is acceptable." Of course it was he**

**had already deemed it so. Once again she seemed to hear his thoughts because she let out a humorless laugh. He glanced at her sideways to see if she were looking at him, and of**

**course she was not. "Are you mourning for someone?", was his question of the day. She was silent for a long time and obviously not comfortable with the weight the question seemed**

**to bear on her. Finally, she sighed a heavy burdened breath, "Yes and then added four to be precise." That was intriguing. He opened his mouth to say more but quickly knew that no**

**more would be forthcoming today per their agreement. Seeing nothing more for him there that day he simply left, leaving her looking small and alone once more.**


	2. Pain

**Chapter 2 **

**Pain **

**I would rather feel pain then nothing at all..**

He being the demon he was he could be anywhere and go wherever he liked in a short period of time and with little effort expended. He chose that tonight he preferred the comfort of his own castle. As he made his way through the gates the two guard bowed and in unison greeted him, "Welcome back My Lord." With no more than a nod he headed inside, where he was greeted by more servants proffering their services, he quickly brushed pass them to his study. Even though he was on a hiatus for the affairs of the region he still went through the stack of scrolls on his desk. Always the same, this village needed help, that village wanted council with one thing or another, and his all time favorite, I have a daughter that has come of age which of course meant their union would be good for the lands. Humans could be too needy and demons were too damned presumptuous. He was starting to get a headache just thinking about it all. Yes, he was still considered new to being a Lord and he did have his father's shoes to fill, but he would not stand for others telling him how to run his lands. This was becoming quite fruitless so he threw the scrolls back on his desk in utter dismay. Would this ever become easier he wondered, but somewhere the voice inside his head told him no. Getting up from his desk he went to his bed chamber and took a glance at himself in the mirror. He maybe a young Lord but he was a very experienced warrior. He took a long glance, his raven hair still perfect with nary a hair out of place, his lavender eyes almost glowed in the dimly lit room. His frame was that of a skilled warrior tall, lean, and muscular. The only thing that could be considered a flaw was the star shaped scar on his left cheek. He of course saw it as a badge of honor. You should have seen the other guy type of thing he chuckled inwardly at his own thoughts. Then to his own amazement he wondered if she would find him pleasing. He was is need of a mate, after all. He let his mind wonder a moment longer before snapping back to reality. He finally resigned himself to sleep. He quickly threw off his armor, haori, andhakama to fall heavily on his bed of furs and pillows decency be damned. He found himself thinking or the little hanyou in the woods again before falling into a dreamless sleep.

He returned early the next morning to find her in the same spot. Before he could get any closer he saw that the sun hit her in such a way that made her glow. He must have been there longer than intended because he was jerked back by a small cough. Surveying the scene more closely he noticed his offering was gone. I guess she did need his charity, he thought to himself with a small smirk. "I gave it to a hungry traveler, in case you were wondering," came her silky voice. "Hmm", was all he replied with. Now in a slightly dour mood, he thought that he would dampen hers. Quite deliberately and without emotion, "For whom do you mourn?" Long almost intolerable silence stretched in from of him. As he turned to look at her he could see silent tears streaming down her cheek with no attempt to rid herself of them. "Everyone that ever meant anything to me", came the soft reply quickly carried away with the wind. He felt a twinge of guilt well up in his chest. Then to his surprise she continued. "My maid servant, my husband, and…. my two children." " I have no one." He waited to see if more was forthcoming, it was not. He turned from her, there were no words that could ever heal that kind of wound, he knew that all too well. Looking at the ground the only word that came to his lips, "Sorry." He knew it was not enough and never could be. He turned to look at her again and found himself wanting to dry her tears. She looked so small, frail, and very broken. Why did he care, why did he feel this need to fix her. There was a pain in his chest that had never felt before. Then before any more feelings broiled to the surface he got up to go, but she spoke before he could. "Thank you for your kindness." How could something so simple make his heart hasten? "You are welcome", he said with an unnoticed nod. He was gone before anymore could transpire.

Feeling the need to be alone with his thoughts he found a quite companionable tree to lean on. This diversion was taking on a life of its own. Why was he interested in her plight? He thought on this for awhile. Finally he came to a suitable reason, she was not from this land so she was an intruder and he did need to deal with that. Yes he was bound by duty as the Lord to make sure that she was no threat. He was quite happy with his solution. He needed to know more about her before he knew what to do with her. The tree of course said nothing but he could tell that it agreed.

He was torn on whether he should return to her for fear of his own feelings. He did not want them, and with a land to run he did not think he could afford them. He also felt compelled to go back. He could feel her pain and wanted badly to try and soothe it as immense as it was. Even with that thought his feet refused to move. His trepidation kept him only a moment longer before he returned to her.

Upon his return to the small clearing she was of course right where he left her. Sensing his presence she gave a slight sigh dreading the question that would inevitably pass across his lips. She knew that is was coming she just hadn't thought it would be so soon. He simply sat down, and asked for an awful truth not realizing the implications of his question. "How did they die?", he asked simply and emotionlessly. To hear it hanging there was like pouring salt in a never ending wound. She took a long breath, and decided right then that she would reveal everything to him more for her own broken soul than for his mere curiosity. As calmly as she could she began her tale.

"I was the one to take all of their lives", she stated. Before he could utter a word she held up her hand to silence him knowing she needed to finish before she lost her courage. " I , as I am certain you are aware, am a hanyou." "I however was not made aware of this fact and allowed to live a normal life." " I have no noticeable physical differences aside from my fangs and claws." "My claws were filed down and my fangs explained as a family abnormality." "What about the marking on your forehead?", he asked blandly. "That didn't come till after." "After what?" he asked curiously. "If you would be quite and let me finish you would know quicker than if you continue to interrupt me" she reprimanded him. Though he did not like her tone nor her disrespect she made a valid point, "By all means then, continue." She gave a very loud sigh, but decided to continue. "I was raised by my mother in a very small village hidden away in a valley that very few know, and fewer still have seen." She smiled at the thoughts of her childhood flashed in her mind along with her mother's face. "Our weather was always perfect only later did I find out why.", she stated with a scowl. "My grandfather was the headsman of our village so even though I was without a father, my mother and I wanted for nothing." "I was a happy child, in fact people went out of their way to ensure my happiness." He had been watching her as she told her tale and wondered why she would frown at the idea of people making her happy. Is that not what she would want? Puzzled he was going to ask but then thought better considering her earlier reprimand. "So I grew up and fell in love with one of our families soldiers, we married and had two children." He wrinkled his nose at the word **love**, he found this a useless emotion that made you weak. "My life was wonderful for awhile, but then my happiness came crashing down." " I remember the day so clearly since it is burned into my brain and will be until I draw my last breath." "It started as a normal day the weather was once again beautiful, my husband came home, but I could tell something was bothering him." "Worried I asked him what was upsetting him, reluctantly he said that he had fallen in love with another woman, and had been for a long time." She refused to cry for him again she would not could not cry for him. "The only reason he hadn't said anything sooner was out of respect for my grandfather." "To say the least I was shocked, but after that wore off I was enraged hurt by his betrayal saddened because of the lie he had made me live." " I was so livid I barely noticed the storm outside." She could feel the tears mounting warring with her to come, it seemed no matter how much she had already cried it would never be enough…never. "One of my last conscious thoughts was the feeling of electricity that seemed to be running through my veins with great intensity." "Then I awoke to a nightmare, to the knowledge of what I had done without even knowing how I had." I was in the middle of the chaos that I had caused with the charred remains of those I loved , the house I had lived in, and the villagers all surrounding me." Remembering all that once again made her sob openly without caring. Why. Why did her life have to be this shell that is had become, why couldn't she have died with them. She knew she could not take her own life that would be further dishonoring her family and she just would not do that. Calming herself somewhat she continued. "The villagers knew, as I did at that time, that I was not human and they wanted me dead. Internally she wondered why everyone had betrayed her, let her live a life that was a false, knowing what she was of what she could become. She had had a long time to think of these feelings and still wasn't sure how to process them. " My only saving grace was my grandfather, he assured them that while I would not be killed I would be banished never to return." "Before I was to leave my mother told me everything she could about my origin." "According to her my father was a great thunder youkai with the power over the very elements at his command, well rain, lightning, and wind." Hearing this he wondered if it was the youkai that was said to be so powerful that he rivaled even the gods. If she had even a tenth of that power she could be a great threat, yet she has shown no sign of that being true. He notice that she was still talking so he knew he needed to listen. "It was a one night affair, but it was enough to conceive me, my mom believes my father knows of me since after my birth the village prospered, and never again had a drought." "As far as I am concerned everyone that meant anything to me is dead, I have no family." She said the last part with such a coldness that he made him shiver. With her story finished she finally let herself visibly crumble in front of him. He noticed that as she did drops of rain fell from a crystalline blue sky. For the first time she opened her eyes to reveal the most beautiful stormy grey eyes, then he looked at the mark on her forehead realizing it resembled a single raindrop the symbol of her lineage. So what she said was true her father was **that **youkai. This assured him that she could pose a great threat to his land and action definitely needed to be taken post haste.

Without a word he stood and quickly grabbed her by the arm and started walking towards his castle and the dungeons which would hold her. Unfortunately, he only made it a few feet. "What the hell do you think you are doing?", she yelled and tried to escape his grasp. "I have deemed you to be a threat to my lands and as of now you are my prisoner.", he said totally void of emotion. That is when he noticed her aura change slightly, it was still small but growing rapidly and it was getting surprisingly strong.


End file.
